Through us, God chooses to make himself known
"God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession"
By Steve Hall
The promise was made to Abraham, and the actualization of that promise began with the divine choice of a people in whom to interpose himself in his physical creation. He made a choice, and these were the Chosen — twelve tribes now traveling through the desert.
Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles
Ephesians 2:19-22
Luke 6:12-16
Reads today’s Gospel selection, and the series The Chosen immediately comes to mind. Well, it immediately comes to my mind, anyway. Rumors had already circulated even before the first episode was filmed. I remember being skeptical when they first came to my attention. Why would anyone develop a program that focused on the disciples rather than on Jesus? My skepticism was ill-founded.
Witnessing the developing relationship between Jesus and each of the Apostles provides a dimension of Jesus’ life that I could never have imagined on my own, and the presentation embodies a relationship first seen long before. The Israelites had left Egypt under the guidance of Moses, and in the course of their travels, Moses offered these prophetic words.
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, out of all the peoples that are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love upon you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples; but it is because the Lord loves you, and is keeping the oath which he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 7:6-8)
The promise was made to Abraham, and the actualization of that promise began with the divine choice of a people in whom to interpose himself in his physical creation. He made a choice, and these were the Chosen — twelve tribes now traveling through the desert. They were the ones through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed.
Jesus chose twelve. We call them Apostles. But what was their role? The original Chosen were called “... a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:6)
That mantel is not passed on. Peter would declare it plainly: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9)
Paul would explain what must follow: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience …” (Colossians 3:12)
Those chosen were not limited to the twelve. Being chosen extends to all of the Twelve’s spiritual brothers and sisters. Like our spiritual ancestors, we too are the Chosen just as Paul clearly states in writing to the Colossians. It is now through us that God chooses to make himself known to our world. For that to happen, we must open ourselves to receive the gospel “not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5).